Draco's Journey
by EvieRox
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson made the perfect pair for their whole lives. But now that they are not tied together by his need to marry a pureblood, Draco is ready to break away. Will it be best decision or the worst mistake of his life? DM R&R!
1. Breaking Hearts

**Author's Note: **Oh boy I'm so excited! I wrote this at about the same time I wrote the first chapter in _Anniversary_ which was a WHILE ago. Now, I've decided to put it up because I'm kinda getting bored of _Anniversary_ (yes I'm still going to write it I just wanted something new for a change!). Anyway, this is a story about Draco. I know I put it under Romance and Adventure, but it really needs to be under "Coming of Age". Hahaha. There's just not a category called that... Well it's mainly going to be about him growing up and finding love. So it's not _all _romance but it's not _all _adventure either. I guess you will see, haha. So I have the second chapter written, I don't if I should post it right away or let you get a feel for it first? What do you think? Well, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Man, it's even a different story and I have yet to own it. Harry Potter and all related characters (e.g. Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, and Voldemort) belong to JK Rowling. I just like to take her dolls and play with them. :)

* * *

"I just want to see what's out there." Draco Malfoy lamely told a worried Pansy Parkinson. They were sitting on a park bench. It had been _their _place. _And what better place to break up with someone?_ Draco thought heartlessly.

"No! You can't break up with me! We make sense together! We're meant to be, Draco!" she pleaded.

"Listen, Pans," he grabbed her hands in his, "I've been with you practically my whole life, but you can't deny it was because of our blood and families. Now that the dark lord has fallen and half of our families are in Azkaban, I just want to see who else is out there like I said." However, this explanation made Pansy look no less depressed. "Look," Draco said sincerely, "if I don't find anyone I'll give you a ring, okay?" But yet again, this had been quite the opposite of the right thing to say, and Pansy slapped him hard across the face. She brought her face closer to his and he soon realized that she had replaced her look of utter despair with one of utter hatred.

"I will _not _be your last resort, Draco Malfoy, so if you're leaving me now, you're _never _coming back!" Pansy half-screamed dramatically, but necessarily.

These words hit Draco like a short range stunning spell, but he did not show it. A life without Pansy scared him, but it also excited him. All his life it had been Draco and Pansy. Whenever he showed signs of fancying another girl, said girl would simply ask him, "Why? Are you and Pansy in a fight?" That annoyed the hell out of him. They were always a "we" or an "us", never a "me and you". He barely ever found himself walking alone if he could be walking with her. Sure he wasn't _happy_ that most of his relatives had landed themselves full terms in Azkaban for what they did within the last few years, but it had also recently occurred to him just how much his purity had held him down. Not only to Pansy, but in other ways. It decided who he could date, who he could associate with, and where he could be seen.

On the other hand, Draco thought, Pansy was a huge part of his life. Crabbe and Goyle were his friends, minions really, but they never had anything intelligent to say. But Pansy, she was different. Draco talked to her hours on end about every little thing. She had been the one person he had confided in about Voldemort's plans for him, and the one person he had confided in the fear he felt about those plans. She was virtually the only one he could trust.

And after all of these realizations, a thought struck him like lightning when it's perfectly sunny. Why was he breaking up with her?

This thought snapped him back to reality like a rubber band someone had pulled as much as possible and let go of. Draco stared straight into Pansy's sparkling blue eyes, and he could see the hate and resentment swelling up in them. He was immediately flashing reasons for dumping her through his mind. "She's clingy, needy, not all that attractive, and I don't love her," he reassured himself to keep her look from paralyzing him.

"So?" she asked him impatiently, as he had sat there staring at her for what seemed like days, "What's it going to be? Are you staying with me or are you going to find some mudblood tramp?" Draco looked at his feet to avoid her glare. It was scary, her glare. He didn't want to leave, but those eyes of hers, usually filled with love for him and hate for everyone else, were now just filled with hate, and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't even stop the tears from falling down his face. He covered the tears up by a forcing a matching look of hate onto his face as he wiped his tears and looked up to Pansy to reply to her question.

"I have to go," he said softly, more to himself than to her. He didn't wait for her reply as he stood up and turned away, mostly because he didn't want to listen to anything she had to say that might convince him not to leave. Once he had gained enough distance, he looked back.

Draco could of sworn he saw a glint of love in Pansy's eyes before they filled with tears, and as those tears came crashing down her face.


	2. Making Decisions

**Author's Note: **Okayyy so I don't really know what you guys think of this story so far, but I'm getting ideas like a waterfall for it, so I'm going to keep writing. I don't really know if you guys like it if you guys don't review! So please please please tell me what you think.

**Disclaimer: **JK OWNS HP :)

* * *

Once Draco had done it, he had known he had made a huge mistake. He was _not _ready to face the outside world, especially after sitting in his apartment alone for three weeks, only leaving his bedroom to get the owls that tapped at the window or the pizzas that had been delivered at the door, and even then he usually used a summoning charm.

Draco was confused. "Why did I dump her," he asked himself, "If I was going to be so beat up about it?" but the first part of his question was the thing really running through his mind. Why _had _he dumped her?

She was controlling. Needy. He needed to see other people. She was mean. Demanding. Jealous. She acted like his _mom _sometimes. He didn't love her, he _doesn't _love her. Or he didn't think he did.

The truth was that Pansy Parkinson had been the only girl Draco was ever with. He had not gone on dates, he had not experimented. He didn't know what it was like to be with anyone but Pansy… so to be honest, Draco had no idea what love was, or what exactly he felt for Pansy.

"But I'm sure I didn't love her," he reassured himself, not _entirely_ convinced.

On that day, Draco finally decided to leave his apartment. But where would he go? What did he need? He needed a break, that's what. He would go to Diagon Alley, get some money from his Gringott's vault (which he had inherited from his imprisoned parents) and do a little shopping to clear his head. Draco smiled at the thought of "shopping to clear his head"… what a _girl_ thing to do. But honestly, he needed it. As soon as he smiled, he knew he was ready, and he immediately apparated from his apartment into the Leaky Cauldron. Once there, the owner, Tom, flagged him down and asked him if he wanted a drink. "No thanks, Tom, I'm just passing," Draco said kindly and proceeded out of the back door.

Once there he tapped the specific brick that led into Diagon Alley.

Draco stepped into the familiar street and saw it bustling with new wizard parents with their young kids. "Ah…" Draco thought, "It must be that time of the year… Right before school starts," and he felt oddly comfortable here.

He strode slowly down the road, marveling at the busy overcrowded shops. Draco kept walking past them, but never actually went inside. It seemed that being there was just enough to clear his head.

Draco decided there that he would spend the majority of his time worrying about his work. He had not even completed auror training camp. Once Voldemort had torn apart his family and even failed to rule the world, Draco vowed to stay on the good side of things and destroy evil. Of course, the only one Draco had known to have completed auror training by 19, Draco's age, was Harry, and that's a little bit obvious. Draco also decided that he would try with all his heart to get on good terms with Harry, because he thought that would make him an overall happier person. He decided not to worry about his love life anymore, what would happen, would happen.

And then he saw her. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Draco stood there staring, with a goofy smile plastered on his face until the girl whom he was staring at looked up. Draco's smile faded immediately; he knew her from somewhere… From school… but she was… a Gryffindor. And after that he immediately tried to shake her beauty from his mind, he would _not _date a Gryffindor, no matter how beautiful and friendly she looked. Unfortunately, her beauty would not leave his mind. He decided then and there that he would not judge people by their Hogwarts house. So he finally sucked up his pride and walked over to her, "Excuse me, miss," he worked his magic, "I couldn't help but notice that you were standing all alone, and I couldn't let your beauty go to waste," she blushed.

"Wow, who knew Draco Malfoy could be a sweet talker? You're awfully kind, but I don't think Pansy would appreciate you flirting with me, Draco,"

"Oh, well, me and Pansy broke up,"

"You broke up?" she was obviously stunned, but not all that crushed to hear of his recent ended relationship, "Well, in that case, feel free to flirt with me."

"I would love to, but on one condition," he said smoothly, "tell me your name,"

She giggled. "Lavender Brown, silly!"

Draco smiled. "Well, Miss Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor, would you like to accompany me, Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, for some ice cream?"

"Wow, Mr. Slytherin, that sounds delightful," she mocked, and she took his hand. And together, they walked hand in hand, off into the distance.


	3. Justifying

**Author's Note: **Geez I am so bad with this story. I don't have any time with final exams coming up! Ugh. But this summer I will be a writing machine, you can count on that! Expect some new stories, too! ;) Anyway, so this is Lavender's not-so-good date. Read it and find out what happens. Is Draco really as good with the ladies as he is cocky? I didn't think so. Enjoy! And don't forget to tell me what you think! I love adviceee!

**Disclaimer: **Okay, JK Rowling would never have made Draco Malfoy an Auror. Herego, I am not her. Herego, he belongs to her. Good day.

* * *

The sun was high in the air by the time Draco and Lavender arrived at Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop. They had walking comfortable silene, holding hands.

Draco led Lavender over to a small round table with a bright pink umbrella overhead and they sat down, waiting for an employee to come take their orders. The weather was very humid and hot and Draco found ice cream to probably be the most desirable thing he could thing of at this moment. That and, of course, the woman sitting across the table from him. Draco shook hist head of these thoughts; this was _not _how he was going to start the first potential relationship without Pansy. But now was not the time to be thinking about Pansy, not was the time to be thinking of the beautiful girl in front of him.

"Draco? Hello? What do you want?" A hand waved in front of Draco's face and plummeted back into reality head first.

"Wha..?" he said stupidly, "Oh. Mint chocolate with sprinkles, please," he said politely to the waiter in a pink apron.

* * *

As Draco and Lavender sat in the hot weather enjoying their ice cream, they made small talk about what they had done with themselves since they had last spoken (or rather seen each other because Draco could not recall an instance before this when he had spoken to her). "Oh, me, I'm training to be a Healer. I always thought that I might want to be a Seer, but obviously you have to have that talent _naturally _and I don't think I do… I'm finding being a Healer to be much more useful, though. I will get to save people's lives, and that sounds like a hell of a job to me." Lavender said animatedly, Draco took in every word she spoke, but not only that, but the way her hands moved and the way her lips moved and the way her hair blew in the wind. "What about you?" she ended.

"Oh well, same pretty much. Trying to figure out where exactly I belong. Right now I'm signed up for Auror training lessons this fall." He said.

Lavender looked utterly dumbfounded, "You? An Auror?" she said, completely shocked, and by the looks of it, not really in an impressed way.

"Well, you know," Draco joked, "now that the Dark Lord is gone I don't really have much choice do I?"

And a silence that swallowed the whole terrain overtook them.

"You called him the Dark Lord." Lavender whispered finally, "Only Death Eaters called him that." Draco had made to clear up his mistake, but he could not think of one reasonable excuse. Yes, he had called Voldemort the Dark Lord, and yes only Death Eaters called him that. How exactly was he going to cover up _that_? "Well, duh, Lavender, I used to be Death Eater"? Would he say that? No way. Draco skimmed through the list of possibilities within his head. Maybe he was just plain dumb to think that anyone could possibly think him as anyone other than a Slytherin, or worse, a Dark Wizard. Maybe he was dumb to think that he could even think of himself as someone other than a Dark Wizard. Wait, though, Draco defended, he had been raised by Death Eaters, he couldn't likely just go off and become an anti-Death Eater of his own accord, like Sirius. But then again, Draco knew, even at 19, that he would never be half the man Sirius Black was. All his life, he had been followed by Death Eaters' children, being one himself. How was he supposed to escape that fate? How was he supposed to tell people about the situation that he was in without driving them away? Maybe he should have waited until further in their relationship (if there was to be one) to tell Lavender about all of this. But then again, now that they were on the subject, maybe now was as good a time as any. Why should they start this out with a bullshit lie to Lavender? That's not how he wanted to get to know her; through lies. So he settled on the complete and honest truth, and that's what he told her.

"Look, Lavender," He began, "I know that when you think of me, you don't autpmatically think 'Auror'," Lavender snorted bitterly, "But I think I should have the chance to justify myself. I was born into a pureblood family. My parents were Death Eaters, my grandparents were probably Death Eaters. Being a Death Eater in my family was like being Christian. It came with the set. I had no say in this, I was raised to think that Voldemort was right. I was raised to think of him as, well, a Dark Lord. But I'm not a bad person, and I am trying everything in my power to prove that to you, to everyone. So please, just give me a chance."

The silence still hung over them like fog in the morning. It was a long while before Lavender replied, "I'm sorry Draco. I have to go." And she got up and walked away hurriedly.

Draco curled his hands and smashed his fist onto the table. He let a single tear fall from his eyes to the ground, where the hot sun quickly evaporated it.


	4. Pleasant Surprises

**Author's Note: **All righty! Here is the next chapter. Draco is trying to stop focusing on his love life, and more on his work life and friendships. He's trying to look at the positive aspects of his life. Enjoy! And I would really love some feedback on it! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I _still _don't own Harry Potter, no matter how many times I wish it at 11:11...

* * *

Draco spent several hours debating what to do in this situation. He had already glumly shuffled over to the counter inside Fortescue's and paid for his and Lavender's ice cream. When he had handed him the 10 sickles and 4 knuts it cost him, the cashier looked at him, apparently confused, "Where's your chick, mate?" he asked, smiling. Draco gave the cashier a look that was equal to the killing curse. His smile faded after being given this look. Draco did not reply and walked out. As soon as he was back outside, he noticed that it had begun to rain. Not misty rain, where you can barely feel the drops hitting you, but step-out-for-a-few-seconds-and-be-soaked rain. Draco frowned at his luck, closed his eyes and turned on the spot, apparating.

He had arrived a couple of blocks from his flat, not thinking entirely clearly about his home. It was raining there, too. _Merlin, is the rain following me or something?_ He thought to himself, _well, I guess it's true the weather depicts how you feel than isn't it? _Draco started spriting home, but after a few strides found himself already soaked to the core. He stopped sprinting and walked slowly home, no longer caring how much rain got onto him. He finally came to his tiny, shabby apartment building and started climbing up the stairs. He opened the door to apartment 3G with his wand. He sat down on his itchy couch and thought.

It wasn't so much that Lavender had rejected him that made him so upset. It was more the fact that he had anyone objecting him in the first place. He tried _so _hard to make sure people knew that he was not a Death Eater. That he absolutely _hated_ everything Voldemort had done to his family and his world.

Draco finally settled on the answer to his growing and aching problem: What was he going to do about Lavender? He decided that he would just avoid her completely. He didn't even know why he was making such a huge big deal about it. They had barely had a date. It wasn't even a date, it was ice cream. Draco didn't know why he was so worried. But after his decision on avoidance, Draco found himself seeing Lavender _everywhere._ He later went back to Diagon Alley to buy some new robes for Auror training, saw her there. Went into a couple of book stores looking for a good book and saw her there, too. He didn't say anything to her, and she didn't to him. _I guess she thought it best to avoid me, as well, _Draco thought grimly. After he saw Lavender the third time at Quality Quidditch Supplies (just looking at brooms), he apparated home. He couldn't handle it anymore.

As soon as he had apparated correctly inside of his flat, landing on the carpet next to the sofa (he put a charm on his flat that would let him apparate inside but no one else), he heard a cool female voice echo through out his apartment, "Floo guest for Draco Malfoy. Would Mr. Malfoy like to take this message?" Draco jumped at the voice but responded with a firm and clear, "Of course." And his fireplace burst into bright green flames. Surprisingly, though, Harry Potter's head appeared in it.

"Um, Ma- Draco?" Harry said not to joyously, "Jenkins says I have to tell you that our Auror training starts on Monday." He smiled sarcastically, "and we're partners."

Draco was so stunned it showed on his face. He shook his head to erase it. "Uh… um… Okay. I will be there tomorrow at – ?" he began.

"Around 8," Harry filled in for him.

"All right, thanks." Draco said, "Hey, Harry?" he added spontaneously as Harry was beginning to pull it our of the fireplace and he stopped, shocked that Draco had called him by first name, "I'm… sorry." He said softly. Harry's expression softened considerably.

There was a quiet silence before Harry said, "Can I come in?" and Draco responded by beckoning him inside his flat with his arm. Harry Potter stepped out of the fire into Draco Malfoy's home. Draco led Harry into his living room and they sat on the couch. Draco summoned two bottles of butterbeer and handed one to Harry. They sat in silence, where Harry seemed to be contemplating how exactly to start the conversation.

"So…" Harry began awkwardly, "How about that Auror training? You know, I never thought of you as an Auror," Draco opened his mouth to protest, "but I must say, it was a very pleasant surprise." Draco closed his mouth.

"Look, Harry, I was a jerk in school. I'm really sorry. I'm working on it, I really am."

"I know. And it takes guts, I'm impressed. And even though I hate to admit, I'm kind of looking forward to being your partner. As long as you're not an ass." He added jokingly.

Draco laughed for the first time since he had talked to Lavender. "I will try my hardest, but I'm still a Malfoy," he shrugged and said as if this was good reasoning for being mean.

"And I will, too!" Harry said enthusiastically and raised his glass for a toast. Draco did the same and their glasses tinkled as they met in mid air.

Harry spent a couple of hours at Draco's. They talked about everything that nineteen year old's talk about; Quidditch, girls, etc. But they mostly talked about what they were expecting at Auror training; What were going to be their tasks? Would they be hard? Would it be fun? What would they have to do as partners?

* * *

When Harry finally left around the time the sun was setting, it was only because Ginny had flooed in to tell him that the Weasley's were waiting for him to start dinner at the Burrow (Merlin knows what that is), and Harry left. They shook hands and told each other they would seem each other Monday, with Ginny giving them a weird look.

* * *

Draco cleaned up the butterbeer bottles with a flick of his wand, changed into his pajamas, and got ready to go to bed.

As Draco lay in bed, he thought about how ironic it was that the only person that accepted Draco was the one person that hated him. _I guess people really can change, _Draco thought, _even me. And I'm going to prove them all wrong, even Lavender._


End file.
